Mark 10
COMMENTARY:
: 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. (4641 “hardness of heart” [sklerokardia] means stubbornness, coldness, completely unyielding, unwillingness to understand, obstinacy, or obduracy.)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel were stubborn. The children of Israel were cold in their relationship to each other. The topic under discussion is putting away of a spouse or divorce. Jesus tells the Pharisees that the only reason they had a writing of divorcement was their stubbornness. They were completely unyielding to the truth that marriage should be for a lifetime. There were two school of thought among the Jews. One said that divorce could happen for any reason, including burning a diner. The other limited the reason but still allowed divorce.
Divorce is something that the LORD hates according to Malachi (2:16). Divorce only profits lawyers. Divorce hurts children the most. The parents are being selfish for the most part. Sometimes it is only one spouse. God would like every marriage to last until death. Jesus told the Pharisees that fact. They didn’t care.
Jesus tells them that from the beginning of creation divorce was not even considered. Husbands left their parents and lived with their wife in a one flesh relationship. That is supposed to be true today.
The problem is that Christians are getting just as many divorces as those who don’t claim Christ as their Savior. It is sad. Our world has entered the church through divorce. One of the neat points in this passage is that marriage is between one woman and one man. The two become one flesh. Now because some are divorced – have they committed the unpardonable sin? NO!!! There is only one unpardonable sin – rejection of Jesus Christ. What can a divorced person do in the church? Depending on our interpretation of “husband of one wife.” Depending on the attitude of the person divorced that is a member of our churches should be taken into consideration. A divorced person can do anything in the church that the constitution allows.
In a legalistic church that means they can do nothing or very little. In a church that believes in license, they can do anything. Somewhere in between is where the church should stand. We are dealing with many divorced people in our churches. We are dealing with many children of divorce in our congregations. We have to establish a policy that is Biblical and stick with it. What are we doing with those who are struggling with divorce in our churches? What should we be doing with them?
CHALLENGE: Work with your friends to encourage their marriage to last for a lifetime. The enemy loves to see Christians divorce.
: 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. (3813 “little child” [paidion] means children, little one, one’s own offspring, infant, young child, a more advanced child, or immature Christian.)
DEVOTION: We have a baker’s dozen of grandchildren. Each one is unique. Each one is beautiful. Each one is smart. Do I sound prejudice? The answer is yes.
Jesus was training HIS disciples with children. The disciples didn’t seem to think children coming to Jesus were important. They sent them away instead of letting them receive a blessing from the LORD on at least one occasion.
Now the disciples were discussing who was going to be the greatest of them. They were thinking with their human thinking regarding the importance of being the one at the head of the table.
Jesus wanted them to stop thinking the way those who don’t understand the Word of God. What the LORD expects from those who follow HIM is that they will not think about being the greatest but about being a servant. HE wants them to think about ministering to others rather than thinking of getting fame for their service to the LORD.
What is the difference between an adult and a child? TRUST! Infants trust their parents usually. If they say to them jump, they will jump into their arms. If parents tell their children “you can do it” usually they will try.
Jesus wants us to trust HIM to take care of all our needs. HE wants us to realize that HE is giving us the light side of the burden while HE carries the heavy side of any burden HE sends our way.
To enter heaven we have to remember what it was like when we were younger. We have to look at children that are around us to see what their reaction to events looks like. In our case we can look at our grandchildren and see how they express their love toward us and those around them.
CHALLENGE: Trust in the LORD with ALL your heart. Too often adults have a hard heart and that is not what the LORD wants us to have.
: 19 You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Defraud not. Honor your father and mother. (1785 “commandmets” [entole] means precept, order, injunction, a prescribed rule in accordance with which a thing is done, or instruction.)
DEVOTION: We have to remember that the purpose of the commandments was to teach people that they were sinners in the eyes of the LORD. The possibility of anyone keeping all the commandments was impossible in the eyes of the LORD.
Jesus when HE preached the Sermon on the Mount redefined the Ten Commandments, so that, people would know that they couldn’t keep them. HE wanted all the people to understand that no matter how hard they tried they couldn’t keep them and deserved hell for eternity.
Well, here comes a rich man to Jesus to ask a question regarding eternal life. Jesus tells him to keep the commandments. His answer was that he had kept them all from his youth. Now we have a problem. If no one can keep the commandments than how could he keep them from his youth? He didn’t keep them but had convinced himself that it was possible to live a perfect life. He was wrong.
So Jesus told him that he only had one more thing to do. He had to sell everything he had and come follow Jesus. Well, this man had a lot of money and didn’t want to give it up. It made him sad. He walked away.
Jesus gives us the same choice. We can think that we are obeying all the commandments but that is not really happening. We need the LORD and HE wants us to be totally committed to HIM.
CHALLENGE: Nothing can stand between us and HIM. Not money. Not people. Not position. Nothing should stand between our love for HIM and our service to HIM.
: 27 And Jesus looking on them said, With men it is impossible, but not with God for with God all things are possible. (1415 “possible” [dunatos] means able, mighty, could, to bear calamities and trials with fortitude and patience, strong in Christian virtue, having power for something, competent, or able.)
DEVOTION: Once we learn that we can’t save ourselves by our actions we realize that we can only be saved or delivered from sin by God alone.
We can correct our actions to the point where people think that we are a perfect example to follow. We can even work on our attitudes which can be hidden at times but still we can’t do either perfectly.
There was only one man who walked this earth that was morally perfect. That was Jesus Christ. HE was sinless. No other human being has ever been perfect. A few men God used as examples for men to look at in the Bible.
Salvation is always based on the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. HE was our substitute. When God looks at those who have made a commitment to Christ, HE sees us through HIS Son alone. HE doesn’t see out good works earning salvation. HE doesn’t see our attitudes winning salvation for us. HE sees HIS Son alone.
Nothing is impossible with God. HE can save the worst sinner in the world. HE can save good moral men. No one can be saved without HIM.
The self-righteous individual isn’t saved or born again he just thinks he is saved. If you meet anyone who thinks they have obeyed all the commandments and lived a life that deserves heaven – they are wrong.
CHALLENGE: Our attitude has to be one of dependence on Christ each day to help us life the life HE wants us to live for HIM.
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